underwriting

Fugu or Not to Fugu?

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Tetrodotoxin poisoning

  • Numbness around the mouth followed by paralysis and death by respiratory failure – the victim remaining conscious throughout
  • First recorded case found in the logs of Captain Cook in 1774, after crew members ate the fish
  • Tetrodotoxin is named after the Tetraodontiformes order of fish, which includes blowfish
  • It is also found in blue-ringed octopuses, some toads, newts and other animals

via BBC News – Dicing death: The fish more poisonous than cyanide.

I refuse to eat sushi in Oklahoma.  I doubt I’ll ever eat Fugu.

Asthma Cases Reach New High

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Asthma prevalence reached its highest level ever in 2010 — 8.4% of the population, up from 7.3% in 2001, according to the CDC.

That translates into 18.7 million adults and 7 million children who had been diagnosed with asthma and still had the condition in 2010, the agency said in a report called Asthma’s Impact on the Nation.

On the other hand, the agency reported, deaths from the disease have been declining from 2001 through 2009, as have visits for asthma to physician offices and hospital outpatient departments.

via Medical News: Asthma Cases Reach New High – in Allergy & Immunology, Asthma from MedPage Today.

Why So Many Ph.D.s Are On Food Stamps : NPR

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Tony Yang received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Riverside in 2009. Since then, he’s worked on and off as a history lecturer, but has had to depend on unemployment and food stamps to get by.

In his best year since getting his Ph.D., Yang says he made about $32,000; in his worst, about $10,000. He says there’s a perception that if you have a doctorate, you automatically walk into a high-paying job.

“I have the prestige of holding a Ph.D., but that [isn’t] paying the bills,” he says.

via Why So Many Ph.D.s Are On Food Stamps : NPR.

FDA Panel Says Yes to Home HIV Test

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If marketed, the test would likely be sold in a similar manner to some cough medicines, according to a company spokesman. At checkout, the cashier would ask to see the purchaser’s ID to confirm he or she is at least 17.

via Medical News: FDA Panel Says Yes to Home HIV Test – in HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS from MedPage Today.

Might be time to review your application and exam question.

I’d take a hard look at my non-medical limits too.

MKSAP: 22-year-old man with T1DM

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Key Point  -Because factors such as fever and exercise can cause a transient increase in protein excretion, patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus who have abnormal findings on annual measurement of the urine albumin excretion should undergo repeat urinalyses twice within the next 6 months; positive findings on two of the three urine samples would confirm a diagnosis of microalbuminuria defined as a urine albumin-creatinine ratio between 30 and 300 mg/g.

via MKSAP: 22-year-old man with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels

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People who had a lot of omega-3 fatty acids in their diets tended to have lower plasma levels of beta-amyloid proteins, possibly reducing their risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.

In a cross-sectional study of more than 1,200 cognitively normal individuals older than 65, omega-3 fatty acid intake was significantly predictive of plasma levels of the 40- and 42-residue forms of beta-amyloid protein (AB40 and AB42, respectively), according to Nikolaos Scarmeas, MD, of Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues.

via Medical News: Omega-3s Linked to Lower Amyloid Levels – in Neurology, Alzheimer’s Disease from MedPage Today.

Death Rate Still High in RA Vasculitis

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From 1988 to 2000, the average annual incidence of this condition was 9.1 per million (95% CI 6.8 to 12), falling to 3.9 per million (95% CI 2.3 to 6.2) in the subsequent decade, according to Eleana Ntatsaki, PhD, from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich, England, and colleagues.

In the earlier and later time periods, 1-year mortality rates were 14%, and 12%, respectively.

But 5-year mortality rates for systemic rheumatoid vasculitis were 51% and 60%, respectively, despite current therapeutic strategies such as treat-to-target, she said.

via Medical News: Death Rate Still High in RA Vasculitis – in Meeting Coverage, BSR from MedPage Today.